Broken Spirit

Lauren Brown

Broken Spirit is a deeply personal project exploring my reconnection with the Catholic faith I was raised in. It reflects the emotional shift of returning to church as an adult, no longer out of obedience, but by choice, while grappling with feelings of isolation, anxiety, and unbelonging. Once a central part of my upbringing, religion had felt more like duty than devotion. Now, without the comfort of family, attending services alone became an intimidating experience. Photographed across various Catholic spaces in Cardiff, this series captures moments of stillness and beauty in overlooked, mundane, or even broken elements of sacred spaces. These details offered me a sense of grounding, easing the overwhelming theatricality of the church as an institution. This work is ultimately about reconciliation; with faith, with adulthood, and with identity, and seeking peace in quiet, unexpected places.